Keith Gibbs Gives Us Another Story About Michael Jordan Trash-Talking

We’ve heard plenty of great Michael Jordan trash-talking stories over the years. Just a few weeks ago Reggie Miller sat down with Jimmy Kimmel and told him a story about the time during his rookie year when MJ outscored him 40-2 in a half before referring to himself as “Black Jesus.”

Today, we add another story to the growing legend of Michael Jordan’s trash-talking game. It comes from Keith Gibbs, who played college basketball at Cal State Northridge before becoming a successful movie extra in basketball flicks. During his time in Hollywood he’s been fortunate enough to cross paths with Michael Jordan on the sets of Space Jam and Nike Commercials.

Gibbs recently spoke with Grantland about his career, and when the topic of Jordan’s trash-talking prowess came up, here’s what he had to say:

He didn’t give a shit who you were. When I was doing Space Jam, we played three days. I thought it was over. I had to go out of town. I get a phone call, they’re like, “Why aren’t you here?” I was like, “Oh, they’re still playing?” I had no idea.

I walk in, and it’s Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Alonzo Mourning, Charles Oakley. Grant Hill shows up. Jerry Stackhouse shows up. Now, all of a sudden it’s an NBA All-Star pickup game. Every night. I did that for about a month and a half, two months. Then the UCLA kids came in, and they had just won a national title — Ed O’Bannon and those guys. Just phenomenal. Best pickup games I’ve ever been a part of. It was unreal.

Yeah, so Jordan … I had to guard Reggie Miller and Michael Jordan in back-to-back games. It was so bad. I was friends with Chris Mills and Tracy Murray — we had been to some camps together. One play, I got switched onto Jordan, because Chris was like, “Keith, you take him.” Jordan hit a 35-footer on me. I mean, it was ridiculous: leg out, tongue out, all that stuff … hit a 35-footer on me and goes, “GET THE F*CK OFF THE COURT.”